Big Teeth. Big Dentist Bills.

Now you guys know, I gots me some BIG teeth...

Ok- so that is a slight exaggeration of their size... remember, I am addicted to photoshop and cannot help myself.

Fortunately for my dentist, and UNfortunately for me, I clench my jaw almost constantly and grind my teeth at night. I have been religiously wearing a bite guard at night for 15 or 20 years. I've gone through about 4 of them... the first dentist who treated me said I had the jaws of a pit bull. He recommended a steel bite guard. Ummm great.

My most recent trip to the dentist resulted in a $4,750.00 bill. Apparently the night guard isn't enough. Although I am highly medicated and extremely sedated, I am clenching my jaw in the daytime now. The four molars on the left side of my mouth have cracks in them and could shatter into a million pieces unless I replace the old fillings and add a crown to each tooth.

The dentist acted like it pained him to have to break the news to me... but I swear he was high-fiving the hygienist when I walked by his office on my way out.

He was bragging about his new SUV when I went in for a follow-up visit. I am pretty sure I made a big portion of the down payment on it.

Anyhoo- there is a new set of bite guards (a day-timer and night-timer) that are supposed to not only prevent damage, but actually help me break the habit. Each one costs $500 for a grand total of $1000. BUT!!!! If I get them both at the same time, the cost is only $750.00. 

Omgosh. What a crazy great deal. It's like I am not even spending money... I am SAVING $250.00!!! Hooray! I am a winner!! I wonder what I am going to do with all the money I just saved???

I eagerly grabbed my almost maxed out credit card and ordered the pair. I got them last week. They are tiny little things, no more than an inch long. Both are made from some sort of hard plastic and slip over the bottom front teeth. I am thinking my dentist has grand total of about ten cents invested in materials. But- they work! You cannot bite down on the back teeth and they kind of force you to relax your jaw. It's hard to explain and maybe someday I'll take a picture and show how they fit in. For now- just trust me.  It's a major medical breakthrough.

Here's the problem... I already lost one. DAMN DAMN DAMN. Can you believe it? It was the day-timer. I took it out to have a coke and slipped it in a pocket in my purse. It's gone now.

Maybe I'm not a winner after all...

My inner child is seriously pissed off.

I'll let you guys know if I find it. If not- I am going to have a fund raiser to try to raise the money for the replacement.

Now to the shameless promotion of me and my partner's websites...

Are you going to vacation in the Virginia Beach area? If so, you'll want to check out the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and the Virginia Beach Aquarium! Both are extremely popular Virginia Beach attractions!

I love the boardwalk in Virginia Beach and used to love to go inline skating there. The boardwalk is a great place to ride bikes, jog or just stroll around and enjoy the ocean.

The Virginia Beach Aquarium was recently remodeled and has some fantastic new exhibits. Our website has a great video showcasing the update. Be sure to bring your camera when you visit the Virginia Marine Science Center-- the new 40 foot tunnel displays some of the most beautiful fish in the world.

If you are looking for Virginia Beach things to do, pop onto our website and look around! We have all the best Virginia Beach attractions listed!

Have a great night and wish me luck on finding my day guard.

YOU CAN ***NOT*** BE SERIOUS!!!

"You guys are the absolute pits of the world..."

Famous for both his amazing tennis game and legendary temper, John McEnroe has an unexpected personality trait: a great sense of humor! Game, Set, Rock! Tennis Amplified featured McEnroe playing an exhibition match against Jim Courier and later pairing up with Anna Kournikova in a doubles game against Jim and Monica Seles.

The night started off with lively music played by the Blue Dogs, a local folk-rock band native to the South Carolina area. The weather was perfect, the beer was ice cold and the music was good.

Jim and John arrived in separate EV Smart Cars. The electric cars travel up to 30 mph and are the perfect way for Daniel Island residents to scoot around town. (Jimboo loves them and thinks we would look awesome sporting one around town.)

John and Jim definitely still have IT. John had serves up to 117 mph and Jim's serves were up to 121 mph!

John made jokes about his infamous temper, questioning calls and fussing with the judge. The crowd loved him. McEnroe was clearly enjoying himself and playing well. It was a tight game with McEnroe finally taking the victory in a close tie-breaker.

All the players were wired with microphones for the doubles eight-game pro set. They bantered back and forth, with both John and Jim teasing an out-of-practice Monica about her serves. At one point, they held the net down so her serve would go over.

In a sassy pink Nike mini-dress, Anna Kournikova was cute, bubbly and every guy in the audience was wowed. It's easy to understand why she is so wildly popular.

Anna was serving to long-time friend, Courier and he egged her on to try to ace him. Kournikova acted like she was really going to put some heat on the serve... and then lightly bunny-tapped the ball over the net! Courier's jaw dropped and he didn't have a chance in the world to get to the net in time for the return.

Anna claimed the point and teased that tennis wasn't all about power, you had to be smart too. Pretty feisty chick! She scored some great points and was fierce up at the net. I wonder if my game would improve if I bought one of those pink dresses? hmmmm

We took David's daughter, Alex, and her friend, Kaylee, to the game. They didn't get a lot of the jokes about McEnroe's temper, so when we got home I pulled up some clips on YouTube. Now Alex and Kaylee will scream out to each other, "YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS!!"

Dave and I had a great time and Mr. McEnroe has two new teenage fans! I am having a blast in Charleston and hope to make the Family Circle Cup a yearly event.

In fact... I'm having so much fun that Myrtle Beach Web Marketing, LLC is now the proud owner of  a new domain:  http://www.charlestonthingstodo.net/  Be on the lookout for it!

With exciting local sports like Stingray hockey, Riverdogs baseball, Family Circle Cup tennis and Charleston Battery soccer, it's going to be super fun to put together a Charleston things to do website. I'm getting ready to build the template and can't wait to start playing around with designs.

My partner in crime (Jan Chilton) and I also have websites with all the very best Myrtle Beach attractions and Virginia Beach attractions. Please check them out if you are planning to visit Myrtle Beach, SC or Virginia Beach, VA! You'll find information on the most popular family attractions, Virginia Beach Hotels and Myrtle Beach Condos, and we also have plenty of Google Map links so you can find your way around.

If you already live in the Myrtle Beach area and want to feel like you are on vacation every day, you need a Myrtle Beach Pool Builder! Every day is a great day when you own an Arnold's swimming pool!

Later Gaters!

Family Circle Cup Tennis

Dave's daughter, Alex, recently signed up to play tennis at her school. My father was a big advocate of going straight to the pros when you start a new sport, so we immediately called around and signed Alex up for tennis lessons at the Family Circle Tennis Center.

Alex has had a couple lessons so far and they are working to help her develop the correct swing, improve hand-eye coordination and improve her serve.

The tennis center is amazing and hosts the Family Circle Cup, an all-women professional tennis event. The 10,200 seat Family Circle Stadium is the focal point of the facility.

A couple weeks ago, I climbed to the highest bleacher in the stadium and looked out over Daniel Island. It's an amazing place. I forgot to bring my camera, so I am going to have to do it again. (It's ok. I really need the exercise... I have been bingeing on blueberry cheesecake for about a month.)

One of Alex's tennis coaches, Gil Amar, gave us complimentary tickets to the Family Circle Cup Prequalification Rounds. Dave and I spent most of the day Sunday watching the event. The weather was beautiful and it was a totally relaxing. Dave even snuck me in a wine cooler as a surprise. What a sweetie pie. Thanks Dave! (Maybe that is why I was so relaxed...)

There was a good opening-day crowd and we had a lot of fun strolling around, checking out the vendors and watching the competition. This time I remembered my camera and got some great action shots.

These ladies were powerful and amazing. I would just kill to be that good. One thing I definitely need to work on? My serve. How pitiful it is. Check out these shots and look how high the toss is:

That's what I am going to start working on. The ball toss...

Anyhoo- I am all jazzed up about the Family Circle Cup. We just bought 4 tickets to the Game, Set, Rock! Tennis Amplified event. John McEnroe is playing in the doubles exhibition and I am crossing my fingers that John will show some of his notorious spunk and get pissed off about something.

One can only hope... I will keep you posted!

That's it for now. I have to get up early and drive to Myrtle Beach for an HOA meeting so I've got to get to bed at a decent hour.

Speaking of the Grand Strand... if you are going to be in the area and are looking for information on any of our fantastic Myrtle Beach attractions, be sure to hop over to Myrtle Beach Kids Stuff! We have the absolute best list of things to do in Myrtle Beach. Check us out!

TTYLG

Stayed up too late...

 Now I can't function.   :(

Just woke up. Feeling Grumpy...

Wait a sec! Let me put on my happy face and bunny ears...

There. Now I feel better.

Good Morning.

I was supposed to do some work today...

Instead I piddled with my blog background, color schemes and graphics for about 10 hours straight. My eye is twitching, my shoulder aches and I think I am dehydrated. I'm all jacked up and feel like a manic spaz...

BUT!! Damn my blog looks good!! PLUS I have this jazzy new profile picture:

Yep- all those long hours today definitely paid off. My profile picture is totally SWEET!!!  (Just like me!!!)

Whoops. Okay, well, I am sweet sometimes. Right now I am a little edgy... ("Hi, my name is Mit Tressler and I am a PhotoShop-a-holic.")

Anyhoo- it's been a while since I posted anything new. I've been pretty busy and totally got sidetracked for a couple of years... but as soon as I hit PUBLISH POST, Beach Life Blog is back in action!!  Hoooray!!  That's it for tonight. I am going down in flames and need to crash... HARD.

TTYLG! (Talk to you later gaters!!) I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Goodnight. Mit